How do I take a test, quiz, or survey?

When an assessment is available to take, you may be able to access the assessment in one or more of the following ways, depending on how your instructor set up the assessment:

To avoid potential problems during an assessment, it is recommended that you read and follow the Essential Tips for Taking Online Tests in UVaCollab.

Access the assessment.

Access the assessment via the Tests & Quizzes tool.

Go to Tests & Quizzes.

Select the Tests & Quizzes tool from the Tool Menu of the site.

Select the assessment.

In the Take an Assessment section, select the title of the assessment.

Note: Assessments that are past the due date but still available for you to submit late will appear in the list with the Due Date/Time shown in red.

Assessments which are no longer available do not display in the Take an Assessment list at all.

Instructors may create links to assessments in other tools in their site, such as Syllabus or Lessons.  The image above shows an example of a link to an exam on a lesson page.

Note: An assessment accessed via a link on a lesson page may open:

  • Within the lesson page window,
  • Or in a new browser window or tab.

An instructor may send an email notifying students when an assessment will be available.  The email will contain a link to the assessment.  At the available date indicated in the email, you can access the link in your internet browser and take the assessment.

You can see an example of an email sent from the Tests & Quizzes tool in the image above, with the link outlined in orange.

Note: If you go to the link for an assessment that is not yet available to take, the following message will display: You do not have permission to access this assessment. If you believe this is in error, please contact [email protected] or your instructor.

Start taking the test or quiz.

The Begin Assessment screen displays information about the assessment, such as its due date, the time allowed for the assessment, and the number of submissions allowed.  Instructors may include additional directions for test-takers on the Begin Assessment screen.

  1. If an Honor Pledge check box displays, select the check box to agree to the Honor Pledge.
  2. When you are ready to start your assessment, select Begin Assessment.

Important: Make sure that you are ready to begin your assessment before selecting Begin Assessment. If it is a timed assessment, you will need to submit it within the time limit or it will be automatically saved and submitted when the time expires.  You cannot pause the timer once it starts.

Answer each question.

Depending on how your instructor has configured the assessment settings, one or more of the following may display:

  1. Timer Bar (Timed Assessments Only):
    • Displays the time remaining.
    • Moves up and down as you scroll on the screen.
    • To hide or show the timer bar, select Hide/Show Time Remaining.
    • When 10% of the time is left on the assessment, an alert indicates how many minutes or seconds remain.
  2. Table of Contents tab: Access the Table of Contents to view a summary of all questions and jump to a specific question in the assessment.
  3. Question Progress Bar:
    • Displays if the assessment includes one question on each page.
    • Indicates how many questions are in each part of the assessment and which questions are answered or unanswered.
    • To jump to a question, select a question number in the progress bar.
    • To show or hide the progress bar, select the Question Progress tab.
  4. Question(s):
    • One or more will display.
    • Select your response(s) to each question or enter it in the field(s) provided.
  5. Mark for Review:
    • Select the check box to identify a question you may want to return to later to check your answer.
    • Marked questions will be indicated with question mark (?) icons in the Question Progress Bar and/or the Table of Contents.
  6. Previous button: Saves your answer(s) and goes back to the previous question page.
  7. Next button: Saves your answer(s) and advances to the next question page.
  8. Save button: Saves your answer(s) and remains on the same screen.

Notes about specific question types:

Audio Recording Questions

Use the Chrome browser to record your response to an Audio Recording question. You will also need a working microphone and speakers to answer this question type.

  1. Note the following limitations:
    • How much time you have to record your answer
    • How many times you can re-record the answer
  2. Select the Click to record your answer... link to open the recording window.
  3. Share your recording device:
    • A microphone should be selected by default.  If your connected microphone is not selected, select the microphone from the drop-down menu.
    • Choose Share Selected Device.
  4. Once a device is selected, the Rec button will become active and you can click it to start recording.

Numeric Response Questions

Numeric Response questions require that you format your answers correctly.  The Accepted characters list displays above every Numeric Response question.

Warning: Commas are decimal separators in many countries.  Because UVACollab supports multiple languages, entering a comma in a Numeric Response question will work the same way as a period.

For example, entering 1,000 (with a comma after the 1 and before the 0s) in a Numeric Response question is the same as entering the number 1.000 or 1.

Fill-in-the-Blank Questions

Fill-in-the-Blank questions also require correct formatting for your answer to be marked as correct.

Your instructor can specify how strict the formatting should be for your response.  Fill-in-the-Blank questions may be:

  • Case sensitive - Uppercase and lowercase letters must be used correctly.
  • Mutually exclusive - If there are multiple blanks in the same question, entering an identical answer in each blank will count the question as incorrect.

Example of a mutually exclusive question:

Male and female children are also called ___ and ___.

Correct answer: boys and girls OR girls and boys

Half credit: boys and boys OR girls and girls

Short Answer/Essay Questions

When typing a response to a Short Answer/Essay question, remember to select Save often to save your work!

Saving your work will help preserve your data in the event of an idle session timeout or an interruption in internet connectivity.

Submit for Grading.

The Submit for Grading button displays in two places:

  1. On the last page of the assessment,
  2. On the Table of Contents page, if it was made available in the assessment settings.

When you have answered all of the questions in the assessment and are ready to turn it in, go to one of these pages and select Submit for Grading.

Confirm submission.

You will be prompted to confirm that you are ready to submit the assessment.

Be sure to select Submit for Grading on the Assessment Submission Warning screen to finalize your submission!

View Submission Information and exit the assessment.

Once you submit, you will be taken to a Submission Information page with a Confirmation Number for your submission.

Depending on how you accessed the assessment, do one of the following to exit it:

  • Accessed via the Tests & Quizzes tool - Select Continue to return to the Tests & Quizzes page.
  • Accessed via a link on a lesson page, which opened the assessment within Lessons - Select Return to Lessons.
  • Accessed via a link and the assessment opened in its own tab or window - Close the tab or window in which it was open.